Christmas Lights Ride with Passion

22Dec

Have I said before that I really love checking out Christmas lights on my bike? Apparently I’m not the only one. Over 70 people joined in on the Holiday Lights Ride hosted by Passion Trail Bikes. We had so much fun last year that Dick and I brought along a few friends this year to join in the fun. I guess we weren’t the only ones.

The ride was only nine miles or so, but the route was carefully chosen to hit the highlights (pun intended) of Belmont and San Carlos. The pace was easy, the costumes were silly and bike decorations were over the top. Last year my favorite bike was a tandem with a trailer long enough to haul lumber with a sound system operated by a car battery. This year’s favorite was a vintage Schwinn Twinn tandem with a real four foot Christmas tree jutting off the back. With battery-operated lights and ornaments of course.

The climax of the ride was the amazing displays of holiday excess on Eucalyptus Street in San Carlos. Not only is the car traffic moving along at less than five mph, even bike speed was too fast. We had to pull over, gawk and take photos. The most impressive house had 700,000+ lights–all solar powered. Another had a beautiful 25 foot live tree with basketball-sized ornaments while another set up an icycle-draped gazebo with a plastic Santa. There was a long line so I didn’t get a photo.

Afterward, we headed back to the shop where Charles, Patty and their loyal customers served appetizers and desserts. I made a small batch of my mom’s Louisiana pralines. If I had known there would be such a large turnout I would have made more.

What’s your take on holiday lights? Awesome or tacky? Where do you draw the line?

Nearly 32,000 Americans die in car crashes annually. 80% of car crashes are PREVENTABLE. If the TOASTER was killing that many people we'd think it was ridiculous. We'd un-plug it and say, let's Fix The Toaster.